2/12/2010 @ 7:12PM

In Pictures: Jobs You Can Do In Paradise

Mountain Guide

If you’re a mountain lover, turn your passion into a career and live in the shadow of your favorite peak by becoming a professional climbing guide. Most professional guides lead clients for eight months per year on some of the world’s most spectacular mountains. Todd Burleson, president of the guiding company Alpine Ascents International, says that aspiring guides should spend three or four years climbing on their own, learning the ropes through friends or through a school. Once they’ve mastered the basics, they can apply to train as an apprentice at Alpine Ascents. The best guides can end up leading clients up Everest. It’s a plum job for a rare kind of person: Burleson says Alpine Ascents receives up to 70 applicants a year and trains 15.

Salary: Guides can earn up to $70,000 a year, and their employers cover their expenses while they work.